Lagher



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED HUGH GALLAGHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO BANNERS PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01" DELA- WARE.

FELT.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED H. GAL- LAGHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chica o, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Felt; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Felts which have heretofore been made for use in cushions, upholstery, mattresses and the like soon become compact and hard in use, due to the many compressions to which the felts are necessarily subjected.

My invention is designed to overcome this difiiculty by providing a felt for cushions, upholstery, mattresses and the like which will indefinitely retain its soft and elastic quality and which will not become hard and compact in use.

To produce the improved felt, I first thoroughly mix two kinds of fibers. one being relatively soft and relatively inelastic, while the other is of a stiffer and more springy nature. For the soft and relatively inelastic fiber, cattle hair has been found satisfactory, while hog bristles have been found satisfactory for the relatively stiff and more springy fibers. After the fibers are thoroughly mixed they are passed through a carding machine, preferably of the (larnctt type. and are thereby formed into thin layers. These thin layers are built up into pads of considerable thickness depending upon the required thickness of the finished felt and are then subjected to the usual mechanical felting action under heat until the pad is felted down to the proper thickness and until the fibers are interlocked sufliciently to form a self-sustaining felt.

I do not wish to confine myself to any stated proportion of the two kinds of fibers, but it has been found in practice that the best results are obtained when the softer or more flexible fibers are in excess, for instance, 75% more or less of the softer fibers and 25% more or less of the more springy fibers.

The softer fibers are capable of being felted sufficiently to give the required Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Application filed May 7, 1919. Serial No. 295,511.

strength and body to the felt. The stiffer and more springy fibers resist felting and tend to remain in the mass in their original condition. Their inherent tendency to spring back to their original position when disturbed causes them to act as numerous springs disseminated through the mass to keep it in a loose and soft condition. When the softer fibers tend to compact and become consolidated in use, the stiffer and more spr ngy fibers act in opposition and by their springlness prevent compacting and hardening of the felt.

Hog bristles have been found to be of suitable length, weight, resiliency and rigidity to answer the purpose of the stiffer and more springy fibers, but vegetable fibers such as Tampico may be used if desired.

It will be seen that a felt of the sort here described may be manufactured of any desired thickness and may be cut to required sizes for the manufacture of cushions or mattresses of given dimensions, or for the upholstering of seats of definite size, as in automobiles.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A felt consisting of a mixture of at least two kinds of fibers, the fibers of at least one kind being capable of felting sufficiently to produce a self-sustaining body and the fibers of the other kind being of a stiffer and more springy character than the first and of sufficient length and resiliency to prevent compacting and hardening of the fibrous mass, whereby the felt maintains a springy and soft character in use.

2. An article of manufacture consisting of a mixture of cattle hair and hog bristles, the latter serving to prevent compacting of the cattle hair when the latter is subjected to pressure in usage.

3. Felt consisting of 757, more or less of cattle hair and 25% more or less of hog bristles.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED HUGH GALLAGHER Witnesses:

Lao M. Fox MAUDE L. MARKS. 

